Forest Of Impalement
by ArtemisIII
Summary: Chapter 6 is FINALLY UP!Brennan has a dream and with every turning event in her real life, brings her dream more vividly into view turning into reality. Soon, her life is in jeopardy, and Booth needs to solve the riddle before times runs out to save Brenn
1. Chapter 1

**Hello! Thanks for reading.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own The series BONES nor any of it's characters. These Characters are the sole property of Kathy Reichs and The Fox Network... blah blah blah etc.  
Enjoy! Artemis  
**

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Run. The words came to her from beyond the wind, and instinctively she followed the demand. She ran faster and faster, and breathing was becoming something to be desired and cherished, but not something one could risk. It was becoming later in the night. The moon over head suggested it was close to midnight, but she always found it hard to tell the exact time. 

The cool breeze was taking a toll on her throat and it was starting to feel raspy, but she never stopped and continued on. How was she to see where she was going? At this time of night, all she could see were the dark black shadows of the trees.

Tripping over an uprooted tree, she banged her head on the soft ground. She felt around, trying to gather her breath. 'This earth had been disturbed, and recently', she thought to herself. Voicing her opinion right then would have been deadly. Lucky, she had fallen close to a bush, so she allowed herself to check the area a bit more closely. A White fleck had caught her eye. Automatically, she started to dig around the white area, gently just like the training had taught her. Just as she had pried out the item she was investigating, she heard someone speak from a little while off. "They're close" she thought. She wouldn't have time to look around any longer. She needed to get a move on, and she needed to go right now.

Just as she stood up to begin running, she snapped a twig and inescapably, came face to face with a man wearing a black ski mask. The very man she was running from. An unrestrained scream raced from her throat, and just as it did, the knife he was weilding came striking down and into her stomach. A searing pain rang through her body, and felt like she was going to be sick, but fought back. Kicking him in his throat, he stumbled backwards and yelped for air. He kept slashing the air nearly missing her each time. She winced every time she moved away. The pain was becoming unbearable and she fell to the ground. He took the advantage she had presented him and with his knee, knocked her on her back.

He lunged himself on her and he gripped his hands tight around her neck, squeezing tighter and tighter, enjoying watching her struggle with him, struggle for her last breath. He smiled inwardly to himself just as she gave one last punch to his chest. That was the last time she moved before body went limp.

"Temperance. Temperance. BONES!" Brennan woke up with a start glad it had only been a dream. She looked around the room to verify that as a fact. Her stomach was aching but it was because she had fallen asleep with her hardcover book on her stomach. It had left a slight red mark, she noticed as she lifted up her camisole. It was the very spot the attacker had drove the knife into her stomach. She winced as she touched the tender area.

"What are you doing in my room?" Brennan said with annoyance in her voice while she rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

"I called you several times already and you never answered the phone. I was getting worried. So I came to check on you and just as I was approaching the door, I heard a scream and found you, in your bed and it looked like you were being jilted, so I had to wake you. You made me feel worried." Booth had expressed as he took off his black sunglasses revealing a shiner on his right eye.

"What did you do to your face Booth?"

"During that little interlude, you kicked me in the eye. That's when I decided I should stop watching you and just wake up, body be damned." Brennan made a sound of disgusted. "What were you dreaming anyway Bones?"

"I dreamt I was being attacked, and got stabbed with a knife."

"Sounds like one of my dreams."

"That's the thing, in the dream, I was attacked right after I unearthed a bunch of bones recently buried. But it was pristine, like someone had stripped the body of the flesh before burying it. I don't know, I...What?" Brennan stopped mid sentence as she looked at Booth from her bed. He was giving her a strange look.

"Bones, where did you say your dream took place?"

"Didn't. It was in some type of forest. Can't tell exactly. It was at night."

"Of course it was." He said sounded slightly upset, "I need to you get dressed right now Bones. We need to go.

"I am not getting dressed with you in here. But what's the rush Booth?"

"Last night, some camp goers stumbled upon a disturbed patch of earth. Their children took it upon themselves to find if there were any buried treasure. There wasn't any treasure, but there was something buried..."

"Bones..." Brennan said in awe as the actuality of his words rang through her head.

"Exactly..."He pointed his finger at her and reached over to grabbed her robe. "Now please. Get dressed.

Brennan nodded, accepted the robe and wondered if the dream meant more than first scrutinized. She would soon find out.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello All**  
**Here is chapter 2.  
I actually looked into what some bones scientific names are. So what you see are the real names, not ones I made up. lol  
R&R. and Enjoy!**

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Brennan and Booth drove in silence for the next three hours. Brennan had opened her passenger window to let the breeze hit her face enjoying the quite glad they could hold such a friendly moment with a man whom she was forever in a quarrel with. She closed her eyes and smiled. She wanted to know where they were going, but was fighting the urge to ask. She just wanted this peace to last forever.

"Bones, are you alright? You look kind of funny" So much for that.

"I was just resting. You know the thing people do when they get rudely awaken."

"Well I just wanted to tell you that we'll be there in about five minutes."

"So you had to bother me for that? I can tell you know; the scenery has changed." She said as she extended her arm towards the many trees.

"Well, that's not really what I wanted to say" Brennan scrunched up her face and knew what was coming next. "Bones, what exactly happened in your dream?"

"I told you already"

"No, you summarized it. Tell me in detail. Please?" She turned her head and looked over at him. His face was innocent yet filled with wonderment and worry. She sighed and filled him in on the details.

"Do you know why you were being followed and attacked?"

"No. Everything else is a blur. All I know is that I had to run, and I don't know why. But it's just a dream after all. A subconscious release of thoughts that I can't fathom right now. That is the only rational explanation."

"Only you Bones..."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You know what it mean? Anyway we are here. Wenatchee National Forest. 2.2 Million acres of forest. Earth's natural beauty. This place is known for its camping grounds."

Where are the bones located?"

"Roughly a quarter mile north. We had the family move away from that particular camp ground so as not to disturb the area any more than they had already."

"You mean they didn't request to leave?"

"The family did, but not the father. He insisted they stay. Apparently they were paying a fortune a night and wanted to get their money's worth and no body or bones were going to stop him"

"That's one adamant father."

"Yea, well it's a good thing I was to question him some more. His story is just a bit off the wall."

"I see... So can I see the bones now?" Booth nodded and they headed in the direction towards the camp site with Brennan holding her bag. The area was blocked off by crime scene tape and other agents. A few families in the area were rubbernecking and were being shooed off from other agents in the area. This was not something they wanted to go public. A man wearing an olive green ranger's uniform headed towards them and extended his hand towards Booth. They shook hands and he then extended it towards Brennan. For some reason she was slightly apprehensive, but took his hands and shook it anyway.

"I'm Michael Walsh. I am the Forest Ranger for this local forest."

"Detective Seely Booth, and this is my partner Forensic anthropologist Dr. Temperance Brennan." Michael's eyes flickered with recognition and he smiled broadly towards her.

"The Temperance Brennan? The author?"

"Yes."

"Wow" Michael was acting like a child and he looked at his hand in awe, " I just touched her hand. And there was a tingle." He rushed over towards a bag leaning against a tree with police tape over it, and rushed back as quickly as he had left, holding a book and pen, "Would you sign this for me?"

Brennan shook her head and laughed "Sure. What would you like to write?"

"Would, 'to my one true love' Be too much?"

"YES!" yelled Booth with anger in his voice. He was feeling jealous over the attention being bestowed upon Brennan and was unable to control it."

"Booth!" She said giving him a look that said back off, "How about 'To my number one fan'?" He nodded ferociously

"Okay!" She gave him back the book and he hugged it close to his body. Booth cleared this throat loudly and spoke.

"Can we get back to business now?"

"Uh, ahem, yes." He quickly changed back to business mode "This is Wenatchee National Forest and I am the Ranger. Is there anything I can help you with?"

"Yes, my partner would like to go see the crime scene and I would like you to point in the direction of the witness's."

"Well the witness's are right there, talking to Agent Dillion and if you follow me Temperance, I will show you to the area."

"It's Dr. Brennan Ranger" Booth said to Michael not liking the familiarity he was expressing towards her. Michael nodded and smiled

"Of course Dr Brennan," Brennan followed the ranger to the area with the most spectators. She asked them all to leave and surprisingly they did.

Brennan hastily put on her white latex gloves and begun gently removing the dirty around the upper area exposed, and loosened the skull of the earth.

"Ranger Walsh" She called out to him.

"Yes?"

"Can you pass me my bag over there?" She pointed the left of her. "I'd grab it myself but I don't want to agitate the area surrounding me anymore than I already have."

"Yes Dr. Brennan, Right away Dr. Brennan" He ran off and Booth approached her.

"Makes a nice little lap dog doesn't he?"

"Don't be so mean. I didn't ask him to see his reaction...at least not entirely." she said cracking a smile. Booth gave into one as well.

"Well, what have you got for me Bones?"

"Don't call me that. But from the sharp orbital border, round chin, and slight supra orbital ridge, I'd say our victim is a female looks to be between the ages of 18-23. It appears that decomp never occurred for her. Her bones aren't greasy at all as it would in any of the 4 stages of decomposition of the flesh. It seems as though she was scrubbed clean..."

"Jeeze" Booth ran his fingers through his hair and exhaled, "What's this here?" he pointed the victim's left temporal bone "It looks like a hole"

Michael returned with Brennan's bag and handed it to her "Here you are Dr. Brennan" his eyes were shining like a puppy.

"Thanks you Ranger Walsh." She reached inside and pulled out two objects. A cleaning brush with soft bristles, and a magnifying glass. She cleaned the hole slightly to rid itself of dirty that had entered the hole and when she was satisfied with the work, she grabbed her magnify glass and peered inside.

"Booth?"

"What is it Bones?"

"It's a bullet lodged into her skull. This girl was murdered"


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello All!  
Well this Chapter has been ready for a while. Blame it on "the read only" Time for the past few days on FF.  
Anyway , enough of my Bitching. ENJOY!  
Artemis**

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Brennan had spent the next few hours in the dirt uncovering the rest of the body. She had asked Ranger Walsh to get her a body bag and a stretcher so that she could wheel the body to the car without disturbing it much. She would later package it in a box with the bones wrapped in bubble wrap to keep it safe on the journey home.

Once returning to the Jefferson Institute, he headed straight towards her work area with Booth trailing in her wake holding the box. Booth had to struggle catch up to Brennan. She seemed to be in a foul mood and walking at a fast pace. He could never understand her mood; therefore he let her lead and allowed her to stay in her own atmosphere.

Angela had been waiting for Brennan in her office and looked up at her with wide eyes, she too noticed Brennan's bad mood."What's wrong sweetie?"  
"Nothing, I have work to do."  
"Something is wrong. I am not the only one to notice it. Booth had let me know while you guys were coming home."  
"Nothing is the matter, just very busy. I have to assemble a whole body to that you can do your computer work. Now if you don't mind. Zack!" She turned her head towards the door to let her voice echo through the crack she had let behind her. Zack had entered through the door post haste, as he usually did.  
"I need to you receive the box from Booth and unwrap the bones. Please place them on my workspace and notify me when you have finished. I have to do a bit of research before I return to that immediately, either wise I would be doing it myself. Also, do not allow Booth in here to bother me." Zack nodded and replied,  
"Yes Doctor Brennan."  
"Thank you Zack," Zack left the room and shut the door completely behind him. Angela was the last one to remain in the room and she was watching Brennan with a close eye. Brennan flipped in her computer, stood behind it and furrowed her brow. She looked up at Angela and smiled a weak smile while her eyes started to well. Angela stood up swiftly and held her in a tight embrace.  
"Oh sweetie."  
"When I digging up those bones, I had a flash back from when I was much younger. I remembered my family and I had once gone camping. I hadn't thought about it until then but it was a cherished memory. We had s-mores. It was the first time I had them and they were so good I ate so much I got sick, but it was worth it. It was so fun, and yet I don't know why I am crying now.  
Angela brushed away a stray hair that had covered her face and was sticking to her cheek that was now damp with tears.  
"Sweetie, did you ever come to think that maybe because you hadn't had a nice memory come to mind in such a long time, that now that one has, you realized how much you miss them. How much you can't get back?"  
"I hate psychology, but I think your right."  
"Maybe because your never talk about your family, you never get to grieve the loss of your family. My advice: if you need to think about your family, just do it. Don't push it away from your mind, or else you are going to have many more days like this. Plus, if you feel the need to cry, do it. It's a release that we all need. And by the looks of it, you needed it, and desperately.  
"I guess so..."  
"But I know so." Angela gave Brennan an peck on the her damp cheek and walked to the door.  
"You know that if you need someone to talk to, I am always here. Day, night, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week."  
"Thank you Angela" Angela nodded and opened the door to leave, closing it tightly behind her.  
Brennan sat down behind her desk and pulled out a mirror that she kept secretly. She looked a mess, and grabbed a tissue to wipe away the tears.  
"How foolish you've been Temperance." She put away her mirror and turned her attention to the computer glad to be away from the subject of her family. It was always a sore spot and she knew it would remain that way for years to come.

After an hour had passed Brennan heard a knock on her door that startled her. Her heard had raced, but she went to open the door. Zack was at the door and had announced that he had finished unwrapping the body and that she would piece together the parts at her will. She nodded and headed towards her lab coat to put it on when her computer made a noise. It rang out "You have mail". She approached the machine and grabbed a hold of the mouse moving the arrow on the screen to open the email she had just received. She studied the subject line and who it was from before reading on. It read 'Unknown email address" and "For configuration". She turned her head slightly to the left and read on. She noted was typed in poem style. She looked upon the words and it puzzled her slightly so she repeated the process once more, this time, she read it aloud

"From the first that came into view  
The ground hideth more than a few  
10 miles in and 6 feet back  
You'll come to a road that would seem quite slack.

Dig high or deep  
And you'll see it'll be steep  
Go too quickly and it'll break,  
Go slowly and it'll erode,  
If you pass this road;  
Or you'll surely be found,  
And this will be mine, in this round.

10 miles in and 6 feet back  
Go too far, and you'll be hitting the ground Jack."

Brennan felt as if she had missed something so she clicked the 'print' button. She waited for it to fully emerge out of the laser printer before folding it and placing it in her lab pocket and left the room. This was something she would have the share with her co-workers to figure out.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello all.  
Here is chapter 4 and I am current;y working on chapter 5. So expect it up soon enough :D In the meantime. Enjoy.  
I can't wait for Bones to came back for May sweeps. :D What about you?  
Don't for get to R&R! begs  
**

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"The "S" shaped zygomatico-maxillary is suture and the guttered nasal border which would suggest our victim was an 'American Negroid'. The length of our victim would also suggest that she was short, around five foot-three inches and was a flutist"  
"So we are looking for a female, age 18-23 who was black?" Booth ventured.  
"Precisely"  
"How can you tell she played the flute Bones?"  
"If you noticed right here," she pointed towards the teeth, "there is minimal damage, most common with a person who plays a wind instrument, in this case. flute." Brennan had stifled a yawn that she had been evading the past 4 hours. She had been laying the bones from the body in order and gluing them ones that had been broken.  
"Can you check dental records Booth? Also looking in the database for missing persons. In the meantime, I am going to have Angela do a facial reconstruction and have Hodgins do an analyis on the dirt to see if there are any foreign objects to give us any more clues"  
"But what are you going to up to them Bones"  
"Trying to figure something out?" "Such as?" She waved him off and ignored his question. She headed towards her office and Booth called out her name once more and she slammed the door shut. Normally Booth would follow her, but didn't press on. He knew what she was like. Only giving as little as possible if only to protect herself.. If she want to come out of her shell, he would have to wait a little while longer.

Brennan needed sleep, but felt wide awake. While she was piecing together the bones, all she could think off was that riddle she had received in her email. She pulled it out from her pocket and examined the printed paper once more.  
"Does this have to do with the case?" she spoke aloud to herself, "must be a chain letter". She shook her harebrained thoughts, crumpled up the paper and tossed it into the garbage. Just as she did her phone rang. It was Jack asking her come to his work station.  
"What is it Jack"  
"I found steel wool particles within the soil. Therefore, I looked at the bones and if you'll notice..." he grabbed the magnifying glass and pointed it at the right philangea.  
"There is steel wool within some of the bone"  
"It would seem that the victim was scrubbed clean and the only way that steel wool would adhere to the bones would be if she was scrubbed rigorously"  
"The person was adamant that they would hid there tracks. Yet they forgot the teeth"  
"That's what I thought, so I took a look at the teeth the molars specifically, they look as if they hadn't been seen by a dentist for years." "So Booth searching for the dental records are going to be useless then"  
"Unfortunately so"  
"That may be a palpable, however, I am done the facial reconstruction." Angela walked behind Brennan and both followed her to her area. Zack who had over heard, walked towards them.

Angela pressed a few buttons on her keyboard and the victim appeared in front of them. "This is our victim" she spoke solemnly.  
"She was very beautiful, with such delicate features. It's a shame her life was cut so short." "So, you've figured out the motive then Dr. Brennan"  
"That's the thing, I can't find a motive. It all seem like she was shut up for some reason. But I can't figure it out." She shook her head and looked at the holographic image of her victim. She couldn't make head or tails of this case and it was starting to get to her. She started to make her way towards the door when her cell phone rang.  
"Brennan"  
"I looked at dental records. Nothing matches our victim" it was booth on the opposite end sounding slightly optimistic.  
"We noticed, but why do you sound happy"  
"Not happy as much elated"  
"About what"  
"I did an extended search for women, ages 18-23, who went missing around the Wenatchee area and I got a hit"  
"That's great Booth"  
"Yes it is, however"  
"However"  
"In the alotted time of one day, two people went missing. One was our victim and another"  
"You think they are related"  
"Definitely"  
"What makes you so sure"  
"Both, went camping around the same area where we found our victim"  
"Booth, are you sure"  
"Positive"  
"Well, what's her name"  
"Amy Dumont. Went missing 2 months ago. Anyway, I'm going to research this more, and in the mean time I want you and your squint squad to do what you do best." "Alright" Brennan hung up the phone and looked up at her team. All eyes where on her and Zack was the first to speak up.  
"Two bodies"  
"So it would seem" Brennan let out a loud sigh and walked out of the room but turned around to her troupe, "I think I am going to head home for a while. I need a shower and a small rest. I'll be back in a couple of hours, but keep me informed anyway." All of the nodded and unison and she turned towards her office. As she walked in and took of her lab coat and placed it on her chair by her desk. She grabbed her purse, which was situated under and her computer went off once more calling out "you've got mail". She banged her head in response from suddenly freight and came out from under her desk. She looked at the screen. The subject read "For your caution" Clicking the read button, she viewed her email. It was similar to the email she received before, this one was also in poem style. She recited the email aloud.

"The answers you seek, can't be formally found.  
Your science is meek,  
Hidden underneath the ground,  
Finding the truth will be no easy feat.

Your eyes aren't open, and your mind is closed.  
Your not as smart as you think, I suppose." she snorted in disgust. "Must be another joke." She hit the delete button and headed home.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello All!  
Here is the fifth chapter. It's a bit short though. And sorry it's taken so long, i've been having probles with my internet.  
Anyway, Hope you enjoy, and don't forget to review. I appreciate it!  
Artemis **

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Brennan headed home in hopes of a small rest, but soon noticed that her answering machine light had turned red. Pressing the play button, she listened to the voice as it spoke.

"Dr. Brennan,  
You've ignored my game.  
The great master rising to fame.  
Your smarts aren't what they seem  
Soon you'll be ten miles in and six feet  
Hurry up and figure out my riddles,  
You're already in the middle  
You'll be in the ground forever  
And your breathing again will be never  
Ten miles in and six feet deep,  
Where the water won't even seep.  
Run, run as fast as you can  
Because I am your number one fan."

Brennan had been clutching her key so tightly, that her knuckles turned white, and they pierced her palm, and blood was trickling down her arm. She had realized that the emails she had received were not at all a joke or even junk mail. She knew that these riddles were directly related to the case. What made matters worse where the fact that he knew her personal information, her email address, her home phone number and most likely, her home address. She sprinted towards her bedroom and grabbed a luggage bag from out of her closest. Placing a few necessities in her bag, she ran back to the answering machine and placed the tape recording into her pocket. There was now blood on her tape and all over her clothes and her hands were still bleeding profusely, but she had no time to dress the wounds now. She would have to do it later and hope for them to stop and heal as soon as possible.

Brennan raced to her car and threw in her luggage bag. She sped out of the drive way and exhaled the breath she was holding. She had to think, and think fast. The voice was deep and husky, but it was altered by a voice recording, yet it was still somehow familiar to her. She had to have known the person some time ago, and this person was taunting her. She would have to ask Angela for her assistance in the lab. She knew she had some type of program she could do that with, her being the computer genius after all.

Back at the Jefferson Institute, Brennan had headed towards the bathroom to wash the blood from her hands and clothes. Having no success on her clothes, she threw on her lab coat and hoped no one would notice. She gave Angela the tap recording and asked her if she could crop out the altered voice and enhance the original. Being who Angela is, she claimed it was easy. Twenty minutes later, Angela was flagging Brennan over. As Brennan approached Angela, she spoke  
"As you can see here" she to two misshapen lines on her monitor, "these are the different voice segments. The one on the top is the altered, artificial voice and the one below that is the closest you can get to the real voice. It was altered by a cheap voice changer, less than two hundred bucks. Something any smuck can by from any spy store in town."  
"But Angela, how can you tell it was a cheap voice changer?"  
"Because of this…"she pressed a few keys on her keyboard and an encrypted code sprang on the screen, "I was able to decode the voice from this in a matter of minutes. Had this person emptied out this bank account and bought more high-tech voice changer, it may have taken hours to get the right, and proper voice. However, this one was only a matter of minutes."  
"I see, Well can I hear it?" Brennan listened to the voice as it spoke those words again and she involuntarily shivered at the sound. It was familiar to her yet she still couldn't place it.  
"Hey Angela? Can you do me a favor?"  
"Name it."  
"Can you call the all the stores in the Washington area and find out who bough such an apparatus lately?"  
"Sure…Um, Brennan?"  
"Yes?"  
"Are you in some kind of trouble?"  
"What do you mean?"  
"Sweetie, I heard the recording. He says your name and it is clearly a threat on your life. What's going on?"  
"I don't know?"  
"What do you mean?"  
"I mean, I don't even know the guy and he sounds like he wants me dead."  
"He must know what you do. I mean it makes sense. He might think you're a threat to him."  
"What do you mean?"  
"Well, think about it this way. Your job is to find clues from bones to find out who the killer is right?"  
"Yes."  
"So he might be the person you are looking for in this case. And he finds you a threat. Maybe you'll reveal him. Or else he wants you to figure it out and search for him. It might be a trap."  
"I guess it's possible." Brennan nodded but didn't believe what she was saying.  
"Look sweetie, be careful okay."  
"Alright, I'll try." Brennan left Angela's work area and used her cell phone to call a hotel. She needed an area to rest without being noticed. She was tired and had barely slept at all.

An hour later and a hefty charge on her credit card, she entered her hotel suite and flung her self on the bed. Usually, she would call down stairs and ask them to wash her sheet and comforters before hand, but she was too tired to care. After she undressed, she crawled under the comforter and quickly dozed off.

She dreamt of the forest her first dream was taken place. In her left hand was a paper scribed by her, with the different poems she had received. The other hand held a shovel. She followed the poems as it said ten miles in and six feet deep. She dug a hole and at the bottom of the hole was a black bag. She dragged the bag to surface level and ripped a hole in it. Inside was a body, badly beaten and in the middle of decomposition. She looked at the face. Female, with a bullet entry hole to her right temporal lobe. She heard a gun shot and heard a man scream. The bullet careened of the tree to her left and grazed her arm. That shot was meant for her. She ran as fast as she could but a few later she fell down a cliff. She sprained her ankle during the fall, but kept running anyway. The man continually screamed profanities at her, shooting his gun at random intervals. She saw a light in the break of the trees and ran towards it. There was a sign near the door declaring where she was, but she couldn't read it. She ran for the door but was tackled to the ground. The man who was chasing had caught up He was wearing a ski mask and she fought him to take it off. Just as she ripped it off to reveal his face, she woke up in a cold sweat. Panting, she wiped the sweat from her face and ran to the bathroom to splash water on it. Looking in the mirror revealed a ravaged woman.  
"I have got to figure out who's been sending me those riddles" She walked back to her room, grabbed her clothes and keys and headed back to the lab.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello All!  
Again thanks for reading. It's been awhile hasn't it. Busy Busy Busy.  
This is a shorter chapter than usual. But as always I hope you enjoy and Please review!**

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Brennan looked around at her desk. Scrawled across her usually pristine desk was crumpled up paper and writing all over. It was now quarter after three and she hadn't slept a wink. She needed some extra help. Being so close to the case was clouding her insight that might save her life. She had gone nowhere in the riddles presented in front of her. Rubbing her eyes, she reached for the mirror she had in her top drawer. Her hair was disheveled and her eye shadow made her look like a raccoon. Brennan went to the bathroom to clean up and look somewhat presentable.

Upon entering, she looked at the mirror and spoke to herself

"Look at what you have become Temperance." She shook her head and turned on the faucet. Just as the water began to pour out of the spout, she heard a scuffle in one of the stalls behind her.

"Hello?" She craned her head to see if anyone was in the washroom with her. There was no answer. Brennan placed her hand on her forehead and exhaled heavily. She was working too hard on this case. Turning her attention towards the faucet once more, she plunged her hands into the cold water filling the basin, and splashed a few hands full on her face. She repeated the process a few times and reached for the paper towels provided to wipe her face. Closing her eyes, she dragged the towel across her face and felt a warm breath on her neck. Someone was breathing on her. She stopped instantly and she eyes shot open. She looked in her peripheral view at the mirror and saw someone dressed in all black was standing behind her. She jumped forward and did a roundhouse kick to the intruder's stomach and made him reel back. His hands went to the small of his back and reached for a .19 mm glock and shot at her. Ducking behind a stall, Brennan's arm was grazed by the bullet and was starting to bleed and she let out a small scream. With all her martial arts she had learned over the years to protect herself, she knew she could never out battle a gun.

Brennan made a run for the door and the man in black chased her shooting at random times towards her body, always narrowly missing her. Everything around her, shattered into pieces. The glass from the beakers broke into shards and raced into the flesh on her face. Still she kept running. She raced towards her office and dove into the room locking the door. It was a useless attempt, being that her door was glass, but the glass was thick and would give her sometime to reach for her second desk drawer. She scrambled for the drawer and forced the semi-locked drawer open. She reached inside and grabbed her concealed .38 Smith and Weston just as her door collapsed into pieces. Again she was shot at and the bullet grazed her temple. Blood ran down her face and into her eyes and was blinding her view of the intruder. She shot at the black area she thought was the man but missed completely. He too, shot again. She ran a hand over her face and brushed the blood from her eyes. Brennan shot at the man again and the bullet came into contact with the man's left arm. He let out a loud scream, and ran out of the room.

Brennan got up and followed him. Once more, she shot at him and hit his right leg. The man ran out of the work area and Brennan stopped chasing him. Exhaling deeply, she reached for her chest and felt her heart beating rapidly. Tears streaked her blood soaked face. Brennan was whimpering and finding it hard to believe. The place which held her life was no longer safe. Reaching for her pocket, Brennan grabbed her phone and dialed a number.

"Booth," a groggy Booth answered at the end of the line.  
"I need your help" Brennan was crying and sobbing in between each word.  
"Bones, what's going on?" Worry rang through his voice.  
"I've been shot at…" Just as the words left her mouth, Brennan fell to the floor and fainted.  
"Bones? What Happened...? Bones? BONES!"


End file.
